The present invention relates to improvements of an automatic winder comprising winding units for rewinding a yarn from a yarn supplying bobbin into a package.
Conventionally, magazine type automatic winders and tray type automatic winders are known. The magazine type automatic winder comprises magazines for each winding unit which each stock bobbins therein so that an operator supplies bobbins to each magazine, via which the bobbins are supplied to each winding unit. In contrast, the tray type automatic winder has been developed to save required labor.
An automatic winder 1 based on the tray type conventionally comprises a plurality of winding units U arranged on a base, and a main body controller MMC and a yarn-supplying-bobbin automatic feeding device CBF disposed at a left and right ends of the group of winding units, respectively, as in the example shown in FIG. 10, and also comprises an ejection passage 2 formed on a front (work passage side) ejection conveyor and a feeding passage 3 formed on a rear feeding conveyor, the ejection passage 2 and the feeding passage 3 being formed in the front and rear of the automatic winder, respectively, as shown in FIG. 9. The yarn-supplying-bobbin automatic feeding device CBF of the automatic winder 1 supplies a yarn supplying bobbin B installed on each tray (a bobbin conveying medium) to each winding unit U via the feeding passage 3. The winding unit U rewinds a yarn from the yarn supplying bobbin B, and an empty bobbin Bxe2x80x2 is collected in the yarn-supplying-bobbin automatic feeding device CBF via the ejection passage 2. The yarn-supplying-bobbin automatic feeding device CBF pulls the empty bobbin Bxe2x80x2 out from the tray T and then installs a yarn supplying bobbin B on the tray T.
Since the automatic winder 1 has the only one yarn-supplying-bobbin automatic feeding device CBF, for example, it cannot easily produce many types of packages each in a small amount. Major changes are required to increase the number of yarn-supplying-bobbin automatic feeding devices CBF in order to produce many types of packages.
It is thus an object of the present invention to solve these problems by providing an automatic winder that allows the number of yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding devices to be increased easily.
Means employed by the present invention in order to allow the number of yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding devices to be increased easily is an automatic winder comprising an ejection passage formed therein for ejecting a bobbin conveying medium with a bobbin placed thereon and a feeding passage formed therein for feeding the bobbin conveying medium, the automatic winder having a plurality of installation spaces in each of which a single winding unit can be installed, the winder being characterized in that a yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding device that is compatible with the. winding unit in terms with mounting dimensions is installed in an arbitrary installation space while the winding unit is installed in each of the other installation spaces so that the bobbin conveying medium ejected from the winding unit can be received by the yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding device via the ejection passage while the bobbin conveying medium can be fed from the yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding device to the winding unit via the feeding passage. That is, the present invention is an automatic winder comprising a plurality of winding units and an arbitrary number of yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding devices, wherein the winding unit is compatible with the yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding device in terms of mounting dimensions so that the yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding device can be installed where an arbitrary winding unit has been removed or the winding unit can be installed where the yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding device has been removed.
According to the present invention, the yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding device that is compatible with the winding unit in terms of mounting dimensions is installed in an arbitrary installation space in which the winding unit is otherwise installed, thereby allowing the number of yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding devices to be increased so that the yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding devices, the number of which has been increased, can receive and feed the bobbin conveying media from and to the winding units. The yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding device supplies a new yarn supplying bobbin to the bobbin conveying medium, and a bobbin removing device is required for removing, from the bobbin conveying medium received by the yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding device, at least a bobbin that is inappropriate to be fed to the winding unit, for example, an empty bobbin or a bobbin with a very small amount of yarn remaining thereon. The bobbin removing device is preferably provided in the yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding device but may be provided at another arbitrary position that enables the object to be met.
Means employed by the present invention in order to allow the yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding device to mutually separate the plurality of winding units is the automatic winder wherein the yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding device comprises a cut-off member for cutting off each of the ejection passage and the feeding passage and a linking passage for connecting a downstream end of the cut-off ejection passage and an upstream end of the cut-off feeding passage together.
According to the present invention, the bobbin conveying medium is circled through the group of individual separated winding units without moving out from the group, thereby preventing, for example, different types of yarns from being wound by a single winding unit.
Means employed by the present invention in order to facilitate installation of a bobbin removing device is the automatic winder wherein the yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding device comprises a bobbin removing device for removing the bobbin from the bobbin conveying medium ejected from the winding unit.
According to the present invention, the yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding device and the bobbin removing device can be simultaneously installed. The bobbin removing device may remove all bobbins from the bobbin conveying media irrespective of the amount of yarn remaining on the bobbin or may remove only empty bobbins or bobbins with a very small amount of yarn remaining thereon using bobbin remaining amount detecting means for detecting the amount of yarn remaining on the bobbin. In the latter case, means is required for precluding a new yarn supplying bobbin from being supplied to a bobbin conveying medium which the bobbin has not been removed.
Means employed by the present invention in order to simplify the feed of yarn supplying bobbins as well as the yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding device is the automatic winder wherein the yarn-supplying-bobbin feeding device comprises a magazine in which a plurality of yarn supplying bobbins can be stored, a yarn end holder for holding yarn ends of the yarn supplying bobbins stored in the magazine, a yarn supplying bobbin picker for picking up the yarn supplying bobbins from the magazine one at a time, a yarn supplying bobbin guide for dropping the yarn supplying bobbin picked up from the magazine, onto the linking passage in such a manner that the yarn supplying bobbin stands perpendicularly, and a yarn cutter disposed between a position at which the yarn supplying bobbin is dropped and the yarn end holder.
According to the present invention, the yarn supplying bobbins can be stored in the magazine with the yarn ends of the bobbins held by the yarn end holder, and the yarn supplying bobbin picked up from the magazine by the yarn supplying bobbin picker can be guided and dropped onto the linking passage by the yarn supplying bobbin guide in such a manner that the yarn supplying bobbin stands perpendicularly. The yarn supplying bobbin, standing perpendicularly, can be installed on the bobbin conveying medium resting where the yarn supplying bobbin has fallen, and the yarn of the dropped yarn supplying bobbin can be cut by the yarn cutter to form a new yarn end that is separated from the yarn end holder. That is, the compact configuration can be used to install the yarn supplying bobbin on the bobbin conveying medium and to find the yarn end of the yarn supplying bobbin.